Reviews tagging 'Death'

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

80 reviews

ameydireads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Some people said that broken bones grew back stronger. On the good days, I told myself that was true, that each time the world tried to break me, I became a little less breakable. On the bad days, I suspected that I would always be broken, that parts of me would never be quite right—and that those were the parts that made me good at the job. Those were the parts that made this house and the people in it home."

The Naturals are back! In this book the FBI investigates a serial killer that is copying the MO of Dean’s father. This case provides a deeper insight into Dean’s character and his difficult history with his father. Honestly, his father is a POS—the devil incarnate who thrives on manipulation and mind games. As this case concerns Dean’s father, there is no stopping the Naturals from getting involved, much to the dismay of Agent Sterling. 

Agent Sterling, an FBI profiler, is an intriguing new character in this story. At first, her strictness and stern attitude made me unsure if I would like her, but this changed as her backstory unfolded. I understood her better and she quickly grew into one of my favourite characters. 

I’m not a big fan of love triangles, so I appreciated that this came to an end after they solved the case. I hope it doesn’t return! On a side note, I also hope that they will improve the security of the house the Naturals reside in. You ‘d expect they would have learned their lesson after their previous encounter with a serial killer, but apparently not.

Overall, it’s a thrilling and fast-paced read. The psychology of the criminal mind, particularly that of Dean’s father, was both interesting and deeply disturbing. We see what drives him and what his ulterior motives are. Additionally, the nerve-wracking ending where Cassie finds herself in a life-threatening situation with again another serial killer made sure I could not put this book down.
I’m excited to read the next books, especially now that the Naturals have permission to work on active investigations!

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emmmmmaaa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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emiliegrace's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Okay this finally did the trick to pull me out of my reading slump. This series is truly quite fun, even though this was slightly more predictable than the first. I really enjoyed the deeper dive into Dean’s character and his childhood, and just how all of that is connected to Cassie and the rest of the Naturals. I knew she’d end up with Dean, but 
my heart kinda hurts for Michael….

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tarlie_12_xoxo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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the_readingwitch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

just as good as The Naturals, and darker in a good way

thoughts while reading

p26: hmm i don’t particularly like agent sterling
p40: oof ok then
p67: lia is so confident
p72: i love scenes where they clean each other’s wounds
p74: of course he did 💔
p155: oh ronnie…
p205: aha!
p213: makes sense, forces her to create a bond with the people she’d be hurting
p255: i can’t really find it in my heart to blame him, assuming he’s innocent of course
p269: well i’ve been rather suspicious of an accomplice from the start
p285: merde, no wonder dean feels so responsible
p288: but if geoffrey is supposedly taking the video but we don’t see his face or hear his voice, his alibi isn’t ironclad
p309: oooh a twist
p313: i was right
p319: i was even more right. and that’s clever. not foolproof, but still good
p327: i never did like a pick me boy
p332: that is an excellent question
p337:…what?
p352: CLIMB
p358: just like i wanted
p366: *spits out tea* ☕️
p368: yay! i like sterling

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han_nanner6's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

4.5

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esme_28's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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tnemelce's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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kdunc3298's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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